Leptodactylidae is a diverse family of frogs.  There are roughly 50 genera and 1100 leptodactylid species, most of which are widely distributed throughout Central and South America.  The family includes terrestrial, burrowing, aquatic, and arboreal members, inhabiting a wide range of different habitats.

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Several of the genera within Leptodactylidae lay their eggs in foam nests. These can be in crevices, on the surface of water, or on forest floors. These foam nests are some of the most varied among frogs. When eggs hatch in nests on the forest floor, the tadpoles remain within the nest, without eating, until metamorphosis. In the genus Eleutherodactylus, the eggs undergo direct development and hatch directly into miniature frogs, with no free-living tadpole stage.